The Show Must Go On
by Emm12
Summary: In an AU where Glee doesn't exist, Chris joins the theater group, "StarFish Productions," where he and Darren meet. They must work hard at putting their confusing feelings for each other aside because the show must go on. Written in VSG 'verse.
1. Walks Like a Duck

**And so another multi-chapter fic in the Various Shades of Grey universe begins - The swirl lives on!**

**As previously mentioned, this fic is an AU set in the VSG 'verse. ****Darren, Chris, Naya and Katie are key players in this fic, but Darren and Katie's relationship is always platonic and no lines are ever crossed in TSMGO.** I don't believe it's necessary to be reading VSG to start on this one. However, if you are reading it, you will definitely get some of the tongue and cheek humour non VSG readers might not fully appreciate.

**This fic is StarKid inspired, but it will in no way be parallel. I'm a fan of fiction!**

**I can't forget to give a shout ****out to my fabulous beta and friend, midlifecrisses. Even though she came down with a bug and her power was out, she managed to get my beta done and make me look smart! I heart you girl, even more than I heart our random conversations (and I really heart those!)**

**I also have to give a big shout out to gayhighfivesandbowties for turning my random ideas for this fic into "oh my god, you have to write this!" She has graduated from head cheerleader to manager, so I you have any problems she's taking emails. ;-)**

**I hope you like the first chapter. I feel like this could be a nice long fic but it will be dependent on how it goes over!**

**Enjoy!**

**PS - Chapter 38 of VSG will be released next week.**

* * *

_**Walks Like a Duck**_

A loud bang startled Chris out of his not so sound sleep. His eyes popped open and he let out a pained groan when saw the time on his alarm clock. It was too damn early to be this awake on a Saturday. That being said, he was pretty anxious to get his day started; everything he'd been planning for over a year had finally come to fruition.

The smell of bacon and eggs was wafting from the kitchen which meant that Ms. Katie Riley was obviously making him a hearty breakfast for his big day. This was the first time Chris was living away from home and far away from his family. Becoming roommates with Katie was the perfect transition because she was just like home.

The Riley and Colfer families had been close ever since Chris could remember. Katie was only a year older than Chris (well, 10 months, 13 days to be exact) and up until Katie moved to Chicago, the two were inseparable. Chris was devastated when Katie left California to join a musical theatre production company, but she had told Chris that he'd be meeting her there the following year after graduation and she was right.

His last year of college went by like a flash and now he was exactly where Katie said he would be. He smiled and considered himself lucky to have a friend like Katie. She was by far the most selfless and caring person he'd ever met; much more so than himself. They created the perfect harmony together; the perfect balance, complimenting each other's quirks and strengths flawlessly. They were a match made in heaven Katie always used to say.

However, the heavenly match was strictly platonic no matter how much their parents had dreamt otherwise. Both the Colfer and Riley clans had high hopes of the two living happily ever after in holy matrimony. However, when Katie and Chris became of age it was quickly understood that there was not a hope in hell of that ever happening.

Chris Colfer and Katie Riley played for the same team and that meant they would never actually cover the bases together.

Katie was only twelve when she confessed to Chris that she liked girls _that way_. She was afraid the news would break Chris' heart because up until that point, they never really understood anything but the love they had for each other. And with their parents constantly telling them they'd get married one day, they too had assumed marriage was inevitable. Then Katie had a Sex Ed class at school and it all became much clearer to her.

To break the news to Chris, Katie had packed them a picnic and she and Chris took a blanket to a park in their neighbourhood. Chris remembered Katie acting extremely odd and later he realized it was her nerves. He should have known something was up the moment Katie was at a loss for words; something that rarely happened.

"_Katie, why are you acting like a goof? Is this about your period? Because you already told me about that and it doesn't gross me out." Chris knew other boys were freaked out by this dramatic female milestone, but Chris was not bothered in the least._

"_No Christopher, this is not about my period." Katie rolled her eyes and let out a dramatic sigh._

"_Are you sick?" Chris' eyes widened and they began to fill with tears._

"_Chris, stop being so pessimistic." Katie giggled and pulled him into a hug._

"_Would you just tell me already and put me out of my misery then." Chris brushed his shirt off after squirming out of her arms._

_Katie took a deep breath and stared her best friend in his beautiful bright eyes. "Your eyes are green today. That's weird; they were blue yesterday." Katie was easily distracted._

"_Katie!"_

"_Sorry. Ok, well you know how our parents always say we are going to get married, which is so weird." Katie's face became very worried._

"_Yeah." Chris shrugged._

"_Well, don't think I can marry you Chris…"_

"_How come?" Chris asked without much concern._

"_Because... uh… well… I think I want to marry a girl when I grow up." Katie searched Chris' face and waited nervously for his reaction._

"_So are you gay?" Chris delivered the question just the same as if he was asking Katie if she was hungry._

_Her face turned a bright red. "I don't know, I guess I could be. I just know that the when all the girls at school are talking about kissing, boys I'm thinking about kissing girls."_

_He thought about it for a moment then smiled. "Well, when you do grow up and get married, I will be your sperm donor. Then our parents will still get those adorable grand babies they keep telling us we'd make."_

_Chris could sense how difficult this conversation was for Katie and he was trying to make easier for her; humour was always his successful fallback._

"_Ewwww!" Katie began to giggle._

_Chris started to braid Katie's long, thick hair and he thought that the conversation was done._

"_So, are you going to marry a girl?" Katie asked playing with a few blades of grass._

_"I don't really think so, Katie." Chris' voice became soft and shifted nervously as he confessed without confessing._

"_Well you are only eleven; it might be too soon for you to know what want." Katie poked Chris' chest and flashed her dimples._

"_You're only twelve and you don't know that much more than I do." Chris was very indignant. He often felt like he was the older of the two and he didn't appreciate her pointing out that he was younger._

_Katie smiled and took Chris' hand. "Sometimes I wish you were a girl Chris because I love you so much."_

"_Sometimes I wish I was a girl too because everyone always thinks I am one when I speak." Chris said completely deadpan, sending Katie into a fit of giggles._

Chris remembered their simplistic coming out conversation ending with both of them laughing until they couldn't breathe. He smiled fondly at the memory then he quickly came back to the present. The present where he was no longer an adolescent; the present where he was now very far from home and quite ready to take on the big bad world.

Today his goals were not as ambitious as tackling the entire world. Today, Chris really just wanted to go explore Chicago and all that it had to offer, but that wasn't happening either. It was his first Saturday in the new city and he would be spending it getting acquainted with the cast members of StarFish Productions, the music theatre production company he'd just joined.

Acting was all Chris ever really wanted to do. Well, he did want to be a comic book store owner up until he was about ten, but his dreams quickly changed when he found his true passion. Chris loved acting plain and simple. After being bullied mercilessly at school, he quickly learned that pretending to be someone you aren't was something he was good at. He was able to put on a brave face, a bright smile and pretend to the world that he was just fine.

"Good morning sleepy head," Katie chimed as she entered Chris' room with a plate of food in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. "How did you sleep?"

"New city, new bed, new life; I'd say I slept like shit." Chris smiled brightly as he took his breakfast from Katie.

"You have no idea how happy I am that you are finally here. You are going to love it so much." Katie clasped her hands together under her chin.

"I'm a little nervous about pulling two jobs though; I don't know how you do it," Chris said biting into a piece of bacon. "Thanks for breakfast."

"You'll be fine. Your hours at the night club will be scaled back until you get your bearings with StarFish. Darren said he was more interested in getting you up to speed on the dinner theatre show than teaching you how to bartend."

To make ends meet, the entire StarFish cast not only performed nightly shows at a nightclub called Stix, but they also waited tables and bartended there. On top of working, they spent countless unpaid hours a week rehearsing and work-shopping. It was a busy life, but everyone involved was committed to making the company successful.

"I'm a little confused here. Who do you guys work for, the club or StarFish?" Chris asked through furrowed brow.

"When we perform at Stix, Mr. Rivera, the club owner, pays StarFish and then we are given a wage by StarFish. But when we are waiting tables or bartending, then Mr. Rivera pays us directly. Basically we have two employers; StarFish Productions and Mr. Rivera."

"Do all of you have second jobs at Stix?"

"Yeah, most of us work for the club at some capacity. Well, except for Naya. Her Daddy is Mr. Rivera and the owner of the club and this apartment building." Katie rolled her eyes. "Naya is a trust fund baby and when she's not performing she's always hanging around the club getting on everyone's nerves. God she's so annoying."

"Getting on everyone's nerves or Katie's nerves?" Chris shot his best friend a knowing look.

"Shut up," Katie giggled. "Trust me; she will annoy the shit out of you too. She's a spoiled little brat who hasn't had to want or need for anything in her life. StarFish is a hobby for her, she doesn't need to work. What's even more annoying is that she thinks she can impress me with material things. It's so annoying."

"Wow, you have just used the word annoying more times the in last twenty seconds than I've used it in the last year. I'm sure she's not that bad Katie and she can't be a littler brat than you are. What are you now, like 5 feet?" Chris had really missed teasing Katie.

"Whose side are you on anyway? And I'm 5'3" thank you very much!" Katie grabbed a pillow and clocked Chris upside his head. "And yes, she is that bad. She bought me dress for waitressing. Who the hell does that?"

"Oh God, not a dress! How dare she?" Chris held his chest clearly mocking Katie.

Katie glared at Chris and left the room only to return a few minutes later holding the dress in question.

"This is the dress she bought me." Katie eyed it distastefully.

"Wow, there isn't much to it is there?" Chris chuckled.

"Is this slutty dress anything I'd every where? I mean really!" Katie was so clearly affected by this woman that she claimed to hate.

"It's not slutty, it's sexy and I think it could be something you'd wear. You do hide that tiny little figure of yours under clothing that doesn't fit you. In fact, I think we need to take you shopping and get you out of your sloppy college phase. Maybe Naya was actually trying to be nice and help you with your fashion crisis." Chris was always too god damned honest for his own good.

"Naya is just trying to get into my pants." Katie huffed looking down at her oversized sweatshirt.

"I'm sure if that happens she will find sensible cotton granny panties." Chris quipped.

"I don't wear granny panties," Katie said quietly looking away from her best friend.

Chris' heart dropped when he saw that Katie was getting emotional. Damn it! He forgot how sensitive she was sometimes.

"Honey, please don't cry. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to shoot my mouth off." Chris hopped out of bed and moved toward Katie.

The corners of her mouth turned up and she wiped the tears off of her cheeks. Her dimples made an appearance when her smile grew.

"You little shit! I see your university tuition was worth it. Those acting classes have really paid off." Chris was impressed.

"Why thank you," Katie said taking a bow. "Can you do me a favour? I have to take a Skype call with Jordan in like two minutes, but my laundry needs to be switched over into the dryer. Can you do that for me please? My clothes are in washer number 3." Katie asked holding out a handful of quarters.

"Yeah, no problem." Chris was pretty sure he remembered where the laundry room was. Katie had given him a tour of the apartment amenities the night before. "Say _hi_ to your brother for me."

Since the laundry room was relatively nearby, Chris didn't bother changing out of his night clothes. He slipped on his flip flops and left their apartment clad in pale blue pajama bottoms and a white t-shirt.

The morning air was already humid. He was told to enjoy the warmth of the summer since come winter; it would be a whole different ball game in Chicago.

Chris peered across the courtyard and decided that he really liked the layout of the complex. It was shaped like a rectangle and every suite was facing the pool in the centre of the complex. All doors opened directly to the outside, similar to that of a motel.

It was a two story building without a main lobby. There were two elevators that you could access near the secure parking lot, but everything was above ground. Ten suites were on one side and nine suites on the other. The gym and the sauna connected one end of the building and the other end was connected by the games/entertainment room. In a covered gazebo near the pool was a hot tub. Chris knew that of the nineteen suites, over three quarters of them were occupied by people he'd be working with at some point.

The swimming pool that was smack dab in the middle looked so very inviting on this warm June morning. The pool must have been the hub during the summer months and Chris wondered how many pool parties they had hosted here?

As Katie had mentioned, Naya's father owned the building and he offered everyone associated with StarFish very reasonable rent for what Chris considered luxury accommodations. They were close to the city centre in a nice part of town and the building was less than four years old. It was safe and somewhat sheltered from the rest of the city, yet extremely central. Mr. Rivera would have nothing less than the best for his only daughter.

Yes, of course Naya lived in the apartment building right along with most everyone else from StarFish. However, her suite was double the square footage of every other suite and her apartment was the only one in the entire complex that was two levels. It was also the only apartment with its own washer and dryer.

Chris could smell fabric softener as he swiped his key-card over the grey square panel outside the laundry room. He pushed the door open after it chimed and he smiled politely at a woman he was sure he'd seen in pictures Katie had emailed to him.

"Hi, I'm Chris, Katie Riley's new roommate." Chris extended his hand to the cheerful looking woman.

"Chris! Oh my god, it's so great to finally meet you! Katie talks about you non-stop." The very energetic, very petite woman said ignoring Chris' extended hand. She pulled him into a big bear hug instead. "My name is Lauren, Lauren Lopez."

Chris laughed nervously. He wasn't used to strangers hanging onto him so tightly. He really liked boundaries and she had just invaded his dance space.

"Listen, I have to run but it was nice meeting you. I'll see you in a few hours at the club for your first workshop." Lauren squeezed Chris' arm before grabbing her basket of clean laundry and leaving.

"See ya." Chris smiled shyly. He felt bad, but he was thankful that she was leaving. He really just wanted to switch Katie's laundry over and get back to the apartment unnoticed.

He let out a labored sigh as he threw Katie's clothes into an empty dryer.

"Either you really hate laundry or you've have something on your mind." A gentle male voice said from behind Chris.

Chris turned around and he went to speak, but he couldn't, before him was quite possibly the most adorable man he'd ever seen, so instead, he giggled nervously like a school girl.

"You are Chris Colfer." He said matter of factly before adjusting his black rimmed glasses and extending his hand. "I'm Darren."

"Darren Criss?" Chris managed to squeak out.

"That's me." His smile was bright as he eyed Chris' attire.

"Does everyone do laundry at this god forsaken hour?" Chris blushed, cursing his decision to stay in his pajamas. "How do you know who I am?"

"Uh, no, this place is usually empty around this time, but I ran out of underwear," Darren said spinning some clean boxers in a circle around his index finger, "and, I know you because Katie showed me a lot of your work." Darren felt his stomach tensing, which was odd because he was rarely nervous when meeting new people.

Chris tried to control himself but his eyes dropped to stare at Darren's crotch. Oh god, he wasn't going commando was he? He quickly made eye contact again only to have his stomach doing somersaults when he noticed how beautiful this freakishly adorable man's eyes were. They were a unique honey brown, almost hazel and they were truly captivating.

Right, Chris had to pull himself together and try to have a conversation like a sane person. This was his new boss after all.

"Forgive me, I'm still a little jet lagged. I forgot that you were the person responsible hiring me. Thank you for taking a chance on someone you never even met." Chris felt the room getting warmer and he wondered if the A/C was broken.

"Don't thank me, thank Katie. She's very persistent and I think she's your biggest fan. We actually had a hiring freeze, but she said how amazing you were and after seeing your work, I had to agree. You are extremely talented and I'm really glad that you are joining us. You are going to add something exceptional to our humble little group." Darren tried not to cringe at himself. He was being way too formal and wordy. What the fuck was his problem?

"Uh… thanks, I just hope I can keep up. Katie told me the schedules you all keep." Chris put the last of Katie's clothes into the dryer and began feeding it quarters.

"I'm sure you will have no problem keeping up." Darren winked in an attempt to be less formal.

Wait, was that too informal? Fuck.

"Ok, well… uh… I guess I'll see you… uh… later." Chris fumbled as he walked backward toward the door. He wasn't normally so clumsy, but holy shit, Katie had raved about this guy like he was a mini-god and she was dead on. No man should be that good looking. Chris opened the door and ungracefully slipped outside.

Chris prayed out loud all the way back to their apartment. "Please let him be gay, please let him be gay, please let him be gay."

"That took you a while, did you get lost?" Katie handed Chris another cup of coffee when he joined her in the kitchen.

Chris didn't acknowledge her question. "Is Darren Criss gay?"

Katie started to laugh so hard she almost spit her coffee. "That, my friend, seems to be the million dollar question."

"Well?" Chris gestured with this free hand impatiently.

"Not in so many words," Katie finally said smirking. She could tell by the look on Chris' face that he had fallen under Darren's spell like so many unsuspecting casualties before him.

"What the hell does that mean?" Chris didn't like this answer one bit.

"It means that although he walks like a duck and talks like a duck, he hasn't been fucked by a duck." Katie was still giggling.

"Katie, I don't have time for your ridiculous riddles." Chris was unsuccessfully trying not to laugh.

"You are right, you don't have time. You need to get into the shower and clean up. We have to leave here in about an hour." Katie pushed Chris toward the washroom.

"Fine, but I'm not done talking about this," Chris grumbled.

"Of course you aren't because you have a big gay crush on Darren Criss and I totally knew you would! I mean, how could you not? He even made my ovaries jump once. What makes it even worse, is that he's that good looking and a genuinely nice guy. Not to mention ridiculously smart and talented. Bottom line: Darren Criss is dreamy." Katie batted her long eyelashes at her best friend, enjoying the banter a little too much.

"I think you have a big _straight_ crush on him," Chris said after Katie finished her fangirl mockery.

"If I was straight, I would have tapped that a long time ago yo'." Katie said in her most gangster voice.

"God I've missed you Katie." Chris smiled and pulled Katie into a hug.

"I've missed you too. Now go shower!" She said kissing his cheek and pushing him into the bathroom.

* * *

"Naya! Open the god damned door! You have to wake up!" After many unanswered phone calls, Darren was now pounding on Naya's door.

"Let her sleep, we all need a break today," Abi snarled as she walked by.

"Abi, that's not nice," Darren glared lightly making his point.

Abi shook her head and rolled her eyes in disgust. She was so sick and tired of Queen Naya getting her way all the time.

Abi was the baby of the entire company. Outside of the summer months, she was still attending college full time and had the most grueling schedule of any of them. Joey called her the pocket rocket because she wasn't quite five feet, but the girl quite literally had the energy of a rocket. Not to mention sass for days. Her signature hairstyle was a side ponytail with a headband that changed colour depending on her outfit and mood. Since today she was wearing a shirt with pink and purple writing, either choice would suffice.

"What colour headband should I rock today?" Abi asked holding out two head bands.

"You know I'll always choose pink Abi girl." Darren winked and continued to pound on Naya's door.

"Definitely Team Gay." Abi muttered under her breath as she walked away.

Finally the door creaked open and a very sleepy looking Naya stood propped against it.

"Jesus Christ, Dar. What the hell?" Naya's voice was low and groggy. She pulled her towel tightly around herself; it was obvious she had just hopped out of the shower.

"Why are you so tired? We are leaving in a half an hour and I need you ready if you are carpooling with me." Darren pushed a dripping wet Naya into her apartment.

"I had a late night." Naya smirked.

"Why did you go out with her again? She's only using you." Darren was referring to Naya's girl of the month.

"Because unlike you, I can't go six months without sex." Naya yawned.

"It hasn't been six months." Darren shoved a travel mug full of coffee at his best friend.

"How many months has it been then?" The smirk was still on Naya's face.

Darren's face grew flush. "It's been four months, one week and two days."

"Your right hand must be tired."

"Thankfully I'm an ambidextrous masturbator," Darren retorted. "So, I met Chris Colfer this morning in the laundry room."

Darren was changing the subject and he didn't put much thought into the fact that the topic of masturbating was his segue into the topic of Chris Colfer.

"Is he as perfect as Katie says he is?" Naya was a little envious of Katie's affection for this Chris guy when it was so obvious that she didn't think much of Naya.

Darren's face lit up with a bright smile. "He's pretty perfect."

"Dar? Why do you have that look on your face? The last time you had that look, you entered into a relationship that lasted three years," Naya said pulling a comb through her hair.

"What? You're ridiculous." Darren took off his glasses and began cleaning them with his t-shirt.

"Are you forgetting who you are talking to here? I know all of your secrets."

"It's not a secret that I can appreciate a nice looking man," Darren shrugged.

"How old is he anyway?" Naya knew nothing about this new kid.

"He's a year younger than Katie, so what would make him 22."

"He's a little young for you isn't he old man?" Naya teased.

"Three years is hardly an age difference. And besides, I'm not planning on dating him."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that. So, tell me, exactly how nice looking is he Darren?" Naya taunted.

"Fuck off Naya and get ready. Meet me by my car in twenty minutes or I'm leaving without you."

Darren was done talking about this. However, if he had answered Naya's question he would have said that Chris was so much more than just good looking, he was stunning. He'd say that when he blushed it was such a lovely contrast to his pale, porcelain looking skin. He'd say that his eyes were a bright green-blue and that his lips were quite possibly the most kissable lips he'd ever seen.

You know, _if_ he had answered Naya's question that is.

* * *

"Good work today everybody! Chris, you did amazing for your first day. Katie and Lauren, your duet was flawless. Abi good work on the monologue." Darren clapped his hands as the day came to an end.

"Don't forget the homework," Lauren said pointing to the unopened box on the floor.

"Right, thanks Lauren." Darren grabbed the box off of the floor and placed it on the table next to him. He opened it up and began passing out small notebooks.

"As you all know, Joey, Lauren and I attended another acting seminar last week and they introduced the benefits of journaling. We've all had to do this at some point in our educational careers, I'm sure and it won't be any different than what you have done in the past. Take events from your day and write about how they made you feel. If you want to call it a diary, you can do that too. The main idea is to document your inner most thoughts and feelings to create a bank of raw emotions that you can then draw from and use when performing." Darren didn't realize he was looking only at Chris as he spoke.

"Will we be sharing what we write?" Abi asked with one eyebrow raised. "Because Naya might not want to know how often my inner most thoughts revolve around her falling down the stairs and meeting her ultimate demise."

"You know I can pay people to make you disappear right?" Naya glared at Abi and gave her a distasteful once over.

"Ok, that's enough guys; make love not war," Joey said holding his hands together in the shape of a heart.

"To answer your question Abi, no, that is not the intent of the journal. It's more for personal growth and is meant to be completely private. That is unless you want to use it when we have our monologue workshops. But then it would be your choice to use it." Lauren said smiling at their youngest member.

"Is anyone serving or bartending tonight?" Joey asked the group as they began packing up. He was pretty sure no one was, but with this bunch, things changed on a dime.

"My dad gave everyone the night off." Naya said smiling at Katie as if she was the one who asked the question. "He called in the back-up staff so that we could all be at the barbecue."

There was a local band playing the club that evening which meant their Saturday night improv show was cancelled and any serving shifts were also being taken care of.

Katie had mentioned wanting to have a little welcome party for Chris a while ago and Naya had taken it upon herself to make it happen.

"Excellent! Wet t-shirt contest rematch!" Joey yelled, high fiving Darren who slapped his hand enthusiastically.

"That is both offensive and exceptionally un-gay." Chris mumbled in Katie's ear.

Abi leaned close to Chris. "Don't let his dude-like tendencies fool you; Darren is definitely a purple people eater."

Chris turned back to Katie. "What language is she speaking?"

Katie laughed and high fived Abi; they obviously had some sort of inside joke that Chris was not quite privy to.

"Chris! What's your meat of choice?" Darren called out from across the room.

Chris' face went a deep shade of pink. "Um, Excuse me?"

"For the barbeque. Naya and I are going to stop at the grocery store on our way home. Steak, chicken, fish? " Darren smiled.

"Chicken is fine, thanks." Chris had to look away. God damn those eyes.

"Are you ok?" Katie touched Chris' knee when she saw him looking physically ill.

"I can't fall for a straight guy. Talk me out of this Katie. Tell me how awful he is." Chris stood up and started to follow everyone out of the club to the parking lot.

Katie wouldn't have a chance to say anything. Darren had already caught up to them and he had one arm around Katie and one arm around Chris.

"Chris, you really did great today. To say I'm impressed would be a colossal understatement. You are going to fit in so well with all of us. I just hope we are challenging enough for you." Darren could easily see Chris becoming a fan favourite with their modest little fan base.

"Yeah, Chris has always been a little ahead of his time and one of the most talented people I've ever met. You know he graduated at the top of his class." Katie beamed with pride.

"Ok, you both are going to give me a big head with all this praise." Chris chuckled nervously. The heat from Darren's body was really all he could think about. He smelled like cinnamon and something Chris couldn't pin point.

"Hurry up Darren!" Naya called impatiently; she really didn't like to be kept waiting.

"You better go Dar. You don't want to keep your Highness waiting." Katie said through a sugary sweet smile.

Darren laughed and told them both he'd see them later.

"If you are going to be such a brat Naya, you can drive yourself. I'm not your chauffeur," Darren said buckling himself in.

Naya sent a death glare Darren's way.

"Katie referred to you as 'your Highness' again." Darren started to laugh.

"Why don't you ever tell her how awesome I am?" Naya huffed; how was she ever going to win Katie over if her best friend didn't talk her up.

"You mean how awesome you were fucking some other woman last night?" Darren shot her an amused look.

"You are so judgmental." Naya shook her head in frustration.

"No, I'm not Naya. Katie is a good girl and she is not going to change her mind about you unless you give her reason to." Darren pulled into the grocery store and they both got out of the car.

"I don't really care what she thinks of me anyway." Naya was a terrible liar.

"You grab the meat and I'll grab the salads and I'll meet you in the snack isle." Darren wasn't in the mood to argue with his best friend.

"Don't forget booze; we need lots and lots of booze," Naya grumbled before heading off to the meat section.

* * *

"Do I have to go to this barbeque?" Chris flopped down on Katie's bed. He really just wanted to curl up in bed and watch bad reality TV.

"Yes! You are the guest of honor." Katie was rifling through her drawers trying to find her conservative navy blue swim suit.

"You are not wearing that one piece; it's hideous." Chris snatched the suit out of Katie's hand.

"Hey!" Katie tried to protest but it was too late, her swim suit was already being launched clear across the room.

"This one." Chris pulled a red two piece out of her drawer and handed it to her.

"Chris I've never worn that one. I don't wear bikinis." Katie held the suit in her hand like it was infected.

"I spent a lot of money on this suit for you last year and you are going to wear it!" Chris gave Katie quite the look and she knew better than to mess with him.

"Turn around." Katie sulked in defeat.

"It's not like I haven't seen all of your parts before," Chris commented as he faced the opposite way.

Katie stopped speaking and concentrated on getting her not so small chest into the not so big bathing suit top.

"Ok, I'm done," she said in a small voice.

"There you go! Now that's a bathing suit for a pool party." Chris clapped his hands together.

Katie began pulling at the tiny bit of fabric self consciously. She felt like her breasts were going to jump right out of the strapless bikini top.

"Katie, stop hiding that curvy body of yours. It's amazing."

"I don't know about this Chris. You are the only person who has ever really seen my cleavage and I'm cool with that because you have no desire to do anything with it." Katie held her hands over her chest.

Chris turned Katie to look at her reflection in the mirror. "Sweetie, you are gorgeous and it's okay to show that off."

Chris was hell bent on helping his best friend to embrace her beauty. She had long, dark hair that most women would kill for. Of course, more often than not she had it pulled back in pony tail or tied up in a messy bun with a pencil through it.

"I like the way I look Chris; I just don't feel the need to flaunt it like Naya does." Katie cringed as the dig slipped out of her mouth.

"You like her, just admit it." Chris pulled a strapless black and red floral summer dress out of Katie's closet. He ripped the tags off and handed it to Katie. "I see you haven't worn the dress I bought you either." Chris pulled the dress over Katie's head and began fussing with her like a pageant mom.

"I do not like Naya, Christopher, she…" Katie took Chris' hand and led him out of her bedroom and into his room.

"Yeah, yeah, we already established that she annoys you." Chris now had his hands on his hips as he watched his best friend sift through his closet. "No, not that shirt I sweat like a mother fucker in that one." Chris hung up the shirt Katie had been holding.

"Potty mouth much?" Katie pulled three more suitable shirts out of his closet. "Where are the rest of your clothes?"

"My mom is going to send them. What you see here is all I could fit in my two suitcases." Chris took a red plaid shirt from Katie and paired it with a white under shirt. He found his black cargo shorts and he was set for the barbeque.

"You are not swimming are you? " Katie knew he wasn't.

"Not this time." Chris gave Katie a look that told her this was not a discussion for today.

Katie was looking at some of the things around his room; remembering exactly where they were in his old room back in California. She turned to Chris who was now looking himself over in the mirror.

"You look really nice." Katie's smile was genuine as she stared at her best friend. "You really are the prettiest man I've ever seen."

"I see you've changed the subject." Chris' expression was gentle.

"I'm not interested in Naya. She's selfish and spoiled and…"

"Do you find her attractive?" Chris asked, stopping his best friend mid babble.

"Well, it's obvious she's beautiful, but…" Katie's face began to turn a pretty shade of pink.

"Have you ever wondered what it would be like to kiss her?" Chris grinned.

"Chris, stop it. I know what you are doing and I'm not going to confess to liking Naya. Besides, I think Lauren is cute and we have been hanging out a bit lately. Nothing has happened yet, but I think that she's interested."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I feel that Lauren is safe, like the bathing suit you are used to wearing; Naya is like the sexy two piece you have on right now."

"That's quite the analogy, but Chris, I'm never dating Naya. She is caviar and I'm peanut butter and jelly, end of discussion 'K?" Katie's big brown eyes widened and she gave him one of her sweet looks.

"End of discussion _for now_." Even Chris couldn't fight off those big cow eyes of hers.

* * *

"You know, every time I look at you, you are looking at him." Naya took a sip of her margarita as she inspected the meat Darren was barbecuing.

"I'm not looking at Chris, I was..."

"I didn't even say who you looking at." Naya laughed and chugged the rest of her drink. "Fuck, I need to get drunk." Naya was staring intently towards the pool.

"When did they become so cozy?" Naya followed Darren's gaze and saw Lauren and Katie frolicking a little too closely together in the pool. In fact, Lauren was right in the middle of wiping some water off of Katie's cheek.

"I don't know, maybe when Katie decided to wear that hot little bathing suit. What the hell is that all about anyway? I didn't even know she had a rack like that." Naya's glare was so obvious.

Darren looked at Katie's rack and smirked. "Yeah, it's not bad."

"Don't even pretend to be interested in those, Dar. Katie could be topless and it still wouldn't stop you from homing in on Chris. Who by the way keeps looking at you too."

"He does?" Darren sounded a little too eager.

"Yeah, don't get too excited though, I'm sure it's just the mass amounts of hair on your chest that he can't stop gawking at." Naya poked Darren's bare chest and walked back to the make shift bar that Joey was tending.

"Don't take your bad mood out on me, I'm not interested." Darren called out as she walked away from him.

Darren grabbed a plate and began filling it with a generous amount of food. Naya was wrong; he had not been staring at Chris, he was just making sure everyone was having good time and he was merely being aware. Chris seemed a little shy which was of course understandable. He was coming into this large group where everyone knew each other quite well. Just because Darren noticed the younger man check his cell phone about twenty times since he sat down didn't mean anything. The fact that he felt a pang of jealousy when Chris laughed and began responding to text message after text message, also meant diddly squat.

However, the fact that Darren's right and left hand would be getting a work out that night with thoughts of Chris Colfer did mean something.

Jesus Christ.

Darren shook his head hoping to shake out the very impure thoughts he was having about Chris. He grabbed the plate and walked over to where he was sitting.

"Here is your chicken burger, Sir." Darren's eyes met Chris' as he handed him the plate of food.

"Thank you, it all looks delicious." Chris wasn't looking at his plate; he was staring at Darren's washboard stomach.

Darren grinned and sat down in a chair next to Chris. "Katie, can you please watch the BBQ for me?"

"Sure!" Katie pried herself away from Lauren, hopped out of the pool and went to watch over the BBQ.

Darren ignored Lauren's eye daggers.

"You don't want them together either I take it," Chris chuckled.

"I just don't think they are the best fit. I know them both pretty well and I just can't see it working." That was not Darren's motivation for keeping them apart; his loyalty to Naya was second to none.

"Yeah, I don't think Lauren is enough of a challenge for Katie," Chris commented biting into his burger.

"I can't argue with that." Darren smiled before subtly glancing at Chris' lips that he just licked a small dollop of mayonnaise off of.

Chris phone buzzed and he quickly picked it up and read the message and tossed it back down.

"How did you find your first day with all of these clowns?" Darren nodded in the direction of the pool area, trying to ignore the smile that Chris had from looking at his phone.

"As far as first days go, I'd say this one ranked pretty high on the scale. It's quite the eclectic group you have here. I feel a little bit lost, but I'm sure that will pass." Chris stared at his plate to avoid looking into those god forsaken golden eyes.

"Moving to a new city is never easy. I was lost for a few months when I moved from San Francisco. If you want, we could hang out tomorrow? I can show you around your new stomping ground." Darren studied Chris as he ate, watching his mouth a little too closely.

"Yeah, that would be great." Chris glanced at Darren before his phone began buzzing again.

"Did you leave someone special at home?" Darren gestured toward the vibrating phone.

"Well, my family is pretty special," Chris grinned knowing full well that's not what the curly haired man meant.

"So, no long distance relationship?" Darren asked through raised brow.

Chris' eyes met Darren's. "I'm single Darren and have been for a while."

"I can't see how that's possible, you are the whole package. Any guy would be lucky to be with you." Darren let out a soft chuckle as a light blush creeped over his face.

"How do you know I'm gay?" Chris' eyes were dancing as his own cheeks became pink.

"Wishful thinking I guess." Of course Darren knew Chris was gay because Katie had told him, but that reply wouldn't have been nearly as adorable now would it?

Chris' mouth fell open slightly and he wasn't sure where to look, so he continued look into the most striking eyes he'd ever seen. Darren was flirting with him; this gorgeous creature was flirting with _him. _As nervous as he felt, Chris wanted to stay in this moment just a little while longer.

Darren didn't know what it was about this man that had his heart pounding and his palms sweating. He had such a strong urge to reach and touch his face to see if it was as soft as it looked.

Katie shrieking shook them out of their intense, albeit confusing, moment. Somehow she had created a huge flame and was yelling something about her eyebrows being singed off.

"I should go make sure Katie isn't burning everything, including herself." Darren gently patted Chris' knee twice before he bolted over to the barbecue.

When Chris knew for certain Darren wasn't looking, he held his hand over his heart and inhaled and exhaled slowly. This man had an effect on him and until knew what his story was; Chris needed to gain some control over this potentially disastrous situation.

"Why did you turn it so high?" Darren was laughing as he twisted the gas nozzle back to medium.

"Because Ricther told me to." Katie's bottom lip popped out in an extreme pout as she ran her finger over her eyebrows making sure they were still there.

"Why do you listen to him Katie Kat?" Darren draped his arm around Katie's shoulder and pulled her tight against him.

Katie shrugged and shook her head. Darren was right, she should have known better than to listen to anything Joey said, especially after he'd been drinking.

"I see you were chatting with Chris." Katie bumped her shoulder into Darren's before peering over at her best friend, who was looking rather disheveled. "What were you talking about?"

"Uh, just random stuff." Darren grabbed a fresh beer and drained the entire bottle without coming up for air.

"Dar, are you ok?" Katie's eyes were wide with concern.

"Yeah, I'm great… just… uh… fucking perfect." Darren ran his hands through his mess of curls before he turned to look at Chris. Immediately his face softened into a beautiful expression.

Chris looked up at the same time Darren glanced over at him. They both smiled at the other and Darren ended the short stare off with a wink. If Katie hadn't witnessed the eye fucking first hand, she never would have believed it. She looked from Darren to Chris then back to Darren again.

When Darren was out of earshot she whispered to herself:

"Holy shit, I think we've found Darren's duck."

* * *

**TBC**


	2. A Duck Out of Water

_**ATTENTION: VARIOUS SHADES OF GREY READERS**_

As you may or may not know, VSG was removed from FanFiction and I have since re-posted it on _**It-Could-Happen **_dot _**Net. **_The fic has **_not_ **been discontinued; I still have many chapters to write. Here is the direct link, less the spaces: _**www . it-could-happen ?sid=46**_4 (I still have a few more chapters to upload and then a new one).

I have also posted the It-Could-Happen link on my FF profile page. I'd love to know that you have followed the fic over there. I had so many amazing readers on this site and I just hope I can share many more VSG feels with you on ICH too!

I hope you enjoy Chapter 2 of TSMGO. The boys go on their non-date and the flirting ensues. Darren also gets himself into a little bit of hot water (or rather lukewarm water).

_PS...I will be posting this fic on ICH as well._

* * *

_**A Duck Out of Water**_

Katie sat across the breakfast table with a frown splayed across her face. Chris had just informed her that he'd be spending his very first free day in Chicago with Darren Criss.

"So, where are you going?" Katie's shoulders hunched and her disappointment was more than obvious.

"I'm not sure he just offered to show me around." Chris averted his eyes away from Katie's sad glare.

"Ok, I guess I'll just get drunk by the pool today." Katie cleared her plate and began loading the dishwasher.

"Isn't that what you do every Sunday anyway?" Chris said with a sarcastic bite.

Katie's brows furrowed and her lip popped out into pout.

"Katie, Honey, don't do that." Chris hated when Katie pulled her very effective guilt trips. "You said I had to get out there and meet new people."

"I thought you wanted me to tell you how horrible Darren is so that you wouldn't fall for him? And now you are running off with the guy?"

Katie laughed at herself; she and Darren were actually quite close and calling him 'the guy' didn't quite fit with someone she'd spent countless nights debating the meaning of life with. She actually considered Darren to be her other best guy friend and truth be told, Katie would love nothing more than for Darren and Chris to date. From the very first time she met Darren she thought he'd be a good match for her best friend. You know, if he was gay.

"Aren't you the one lecturing me all the time saying that you and I can't be joined at the hip?" Chris was going to ignore Katie's comment about falling for Darren. He wouldn't even dignify that with a response because he had no intentions of falling for a straight guy; adorable or otherwise.

"Yes, but we haven't been joined at the hip for a year and today is our first full day to spend together in Chicago." Katie paused for a moment. "And why do I sound like your girlfriend?" She laughed realizing just how ridiculous she sounded.

"I was just thinking that very same thing," Chris quipped.

"Screw off, you love me and you know it. Enjoy your day with Darren. Oh, and for the record, there isn't much to hate about him. You are probably going to fall in madly love with him and give him your precious virginity," Katie teased and left the kitchen giggling.

"I'm not a virgin!" Chris yelled after her. Ok, technically he was sort of a virgin, but he'd done enough that he didn't think he should be labeled as such.

"Blow jobs don't count!" Katie yelled from the other room.

"Oh they count," Chris chuckled.

"Get dressed you pig; I see Darren out by the pool with Queen Naya." Katie had her hands on her hips as she stared out at them. Naya was wearing a dress that most likely cost more than two months rent.

"Just admit it, you want to touch her girlie parts." Chris laughed as he walked past Katie into his room.

"You mean the ones her daddy paid for?" Katie cringed at her own cattiness. What was it about this woman that made her act out like this?

"Denial isn't a good look on you; it makes you mean."

"Yeah, that wasn't nice. I take it back." Katie blushed when she realized she was ogling the long legged beauty.

"So what _are_ you going to do today?" Chris kissed Katie's temple. He really did feel bad for leaving her out of his Sunday plans.

"I'm getting drunk by the pool, like I said. I'll see if Abi wants to join me." Katie smiled sweetly at her best friend. The guilt trip was officially over.

"Should you be encouraging a minor to drink?" Chris knew Abi was only 20.

Katie let out a loud laugh. "As if being under age ever stopped you! Besides, she's 21 in a few weeks. We'll be having a big bash for her. I should warn you properly about our parties; they can get out of hand."

"I'm sure I can handle it." Chris shot his friend a look.

"Ok, but don't say I didn't warn you," Katie smiled brightly. "Oh and you might want to brush your teeth; you aren't going to want to bring that breath anywhere near Darren's perfect face."

"Ok, Naya lover." Chris had no good comeback, so acting like a child would have to suffice.

"Really mature Christopher. It's obvious who the older one is here." Katie knew this got to him every time.

"I'm going to ignore you now and go get ready for my date. Shit, I mean _day out_!" Chris' face went bright red.

"Ha! You called it a date!" Katie's eyes widened and her mouth fell open.

"Day out! I called it a day out!" Chris rushed out of the room unable to take the look his best friend was hurling at him.

Katie's eyes moved back to the pool where she saw both Naya and Darren laughing.

Naya looked so beautiful when she was showing authentic emotions. Katie knew how guarded she was, how afraid she was to show her true feelings. Darren never told Katie the reason behind Naya's shield; only that she wasn't exactly the person she let the world see.

* * *

"Any big plans for the day?" Darren asked Naya as he sat with his feet dangling in the pool. She was sitting beside him with her knees tucked up to her chest.

"No, not really. Lindsay wanted to hang out, but I don't really feel up for it." Naya shrugged glancing quickly at Katie and Chris' apartment.

"That's probably for the best. If you are really interested in Katie you will have to stop fucking anything in a skirt and prove to her that you are capable of a monogamous relationship." Darren knew Katie and he knew she was a true romantic in every sense of the word.

"I've been in monogamous relationships, Dar." Naya said through furrowed brow.

"I know you have, but you haven't been in one since Katie has joined the group. I know Alicia messed you up, but if you really want to try and be with Katie you are going to have to let that guard of yours down a little bit Sweetie." Darren reached out and squeezed Naya's hand.

Alicia was Naya's ex, whom she dated for over a year. She never cheated on Naya, but toward the end of the relationship things became extremely volatile and then she eventually became violent. It only happened once, but she hit Naya so hard she put her in the hospital. Naya ended it then and there, but it was something that was never really spoken of and was something Katie most certainly didn't know about.

"She'd never date me anyway Dar, she's made that perfectly clear." Naya smiled weakly.

"Have you ever thought about opening up to her? If you let her in she'd no doubt fall in love with you. You are amazing, but you don't let people see that anymore. For some reason you are okay with people hating on you and that's made being your best friend a full time job." Darren chuckled thinking of all the times he had to defend Naya.

It would be so much easier if people saw what he knew to be the truth. Naya was a beautiful person, inside and out who was generous and nurturing. But lately all they saw was the spoiled brat who always got her own way. They didn't see her sweet, gentle side because she was too busy flashing her muscles to ward off enemies.

"Maybe I'm not the same person I used to be Dar. Have you ever thought about that? It's possible this is the new me, flaws and all." Naya was twirling her hair, something she only did when she was lying or extremely uncomfortable.

"And I'd almost be convinced of that if you weren't doing that to your hair." Darren reached out and stopped Naya's hand.

"Dar, I don't believe in throwing the word perfection around, but Katie is damn near close to the perfect woman for me." A sad look washed over Naya's face.

"I can't disagree with you. You two would be a good balance for each other." Darren hated this conversation topic because in all honesty, he didn't know if they'd ever get together and he didn't want to encourage heartache for Naya. Until she made some drastic changes, Katie wouldn't be getting involved with her. It was that simple.

"I know I'm only 25 and I have no real desire to start a family yet, but when I see the mother of my babies I see her." Naya was doing the girl thing and jumping way ahead of herself.

"Back it up Naya. Don't you think you should seal a good first date before you have her pregnant with your baby?" Darren laughed lightly. "Besides, you are missing one very important thing. The last time I checked even Naya Rivera didn't have sperm."

"Oh yes I do." Naya glanced at the front of Darren's pants.

"Excellent, I get to have sex with Katie then?" Darren asked with an amused smirk trying to get a reaction out of his best friend.

"Uh, maybe in an alternate universe, but in this one you keep your dick to yourself!" If, by the grace of god, Naya and Katie got together she had no intentions of sharing her, _ever_.

Darren let out a hearty laugh then he became slightly anxious. "You know when the time is right, I'll give you my little swimmers. However, that's not for a while right?"

"Don't panic stud, you are not going to be my baby daddy for a good few years." Naya started laughing at the sheer terror on Darren's face; definitely payback for his threat of sleeping with Katie.

Darren pulled his legs out of the pool. "I need to go get ready; I'm meeting Chris in twenty minutes."

"Where are you taking him on your date?" Naya took the hand Darren had extended to her and she stood up with him.

"It's not a date and I'm taking him to one of our favourite coffee shops to start and see what kinds of things he's into, then we will go from there." Darren was trying to conceal his nerves, but even his confidence couldn't shake them away completely.

"I see you are as unorganized as ever." Naya both loved and hated this about Darren.

"I prefer spontaneous. I have a few ideas in my back pocket," Darren smiled. "Since you are not meeting Lindsay, what are you up to today?"

"Not much. It's a nice day so I might hang out by the pool and harass Abi."

"You mean: hope that Katie is with her." Darren knew that Sunday afternoon was often the Katie and Abi show if neither woman had to work.

"Something like that." Naya laughed lightly. "Hey, did you meet Abi's Aunt Erika? The word is her fiancé broke her heart less than a month before they were supposed to get married. Anyway, she has moved in with Abi for a change of scenery. She's more like a sister though, she's only 28."

"Don't even think about it. She's straight and fresh out of a break-up." Darren saw the predatory look on Naya's face and that meant she had full intentions of going after Erika.

"We both know women are only straight until they are not," Naya smirked recalling her recent toasters.

"You know, that will only drive a bigger wedge in between you and Katie. Is pissing Abi off really worth screwing up any chance you have with Katie?" Darren loved his best friend, but sometimes he became extremely frustrated by her new desire for destruction.

"You are such a kill joy! Fine, but I'm totally going to flirt with her. I have to Dar, it would be wrong if I didn't." Naya pulled her summer dress off until she was clad in a bright yellow bikini. She removed her sunglass from her head and put them over her eyes. "Now get out of here and go woo your future boyfriend." Naya pushed Darren away before sitting on a nearby lounge chair.

"He's not my future boyfriend," Darren rolled his eyes as he walked away. "I'll message you later and let you know how it's going."

"Why would you need to message me about a non-date?" Naya peeked out from her sunglasses catching Darren's glare.

"Bye Naya. Don't drink too much." Darren knew she would. Sunday afternoons tended to get rowdy with the poolside crowd.

Naya just smiled and settled into her chair.

* * *

"This is your favourite coffee shop?" Chris looked around trying to understand the appeal. It was cozy enough, but it was no Starbucks.

"Yeah, in the winter I sometimes bring my guitar down here and jam a little." Darren gestured toward the small stage. "It was one of the first places I performed in Chicago so I guess I have a soft spot for it. Plus, they give me free coffee." Darren flashed Chris a bright smile as he clinked Chris' coffee cup.

Chris' eyes scanned the room and they stopped on a picture of Darren that was framed on the wall. It must have been a few years old because his hair was quite long and borderlined on shaggy, yet he still looked amazing. Chris realized he had yet to really see Darren perform; the day before he was leading them all and mostly just talking (and talking, and talking). Chris really looked forward to hearing him sing.

"Your eyes change colour; they were blue yesterday and today they are a crazy bright green." Darren blurted out before he could filter himself.

"I swear you and Katie are the only two people who keep tabs on my eye colour. Even my ex-boyfriend didn't catch on that they changed." Chris took a sip of his coffee and his very green eyes danced with a slight flirtation. He felt like he had the upper hand with this man and the power was slightly invigorating.

"Your ex-boyfriend is an ex for a reason. If I was dating you, your eyes would be but one of the many things I would be noticing." Darren winked and took a sip of his own coffee.

"Does that shit work?" Chris quipped through raised brows.

"What?" Darren was not used to be called out on.

"Your style of flirting and your lines, does that work?" Chris couldn't be sure, but it almost looked like Darren had started to perspire.

"I've never had any complaints until now." Darren wished he was wearing his glasses so that he had something to touch as a distraction instead, he rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"I never said it wasn't working," Chris blushed lightly as he let Darren off the hook.

Darren let out a breathy chuckle before making eye contact with Chris. They both felt the butterflies in the pit of their stomachs and the chemistry was something neither of them could deny; no matter how hard both of them were about to try.

"We should go. I… uh… thought I'd take you on a driving tour of the city and then we could watch a concert in the park. We can eat bad hot dogs and enjoy the beautiful sunny day before we go back to our piss tank friends." Darren was trying to steer the non-date in a more platonic direction, even though all he wanted to do was lick Chris Colfer.

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Darren was a gracious tour guide and the concert in the park ended up being really enjoyable. They spent a better part of the concert people watching and guessing their life stories.

"What about her?" Darren pointed to a lady in her 30's sitting on her own.

"She's recently widowed and the reason her husband is deceased is because she opened up her shotgun on him. He really shouldn't have cheated on her; he had it coming." Chris lips turned up only slightly as he summed up this poor women's make believe life.

"Note to self: don't cheat on Chris Colfer." Darren pretended to write in an imaginary book.

"You don't strike me as the cheating type," Chris said biting into his hotdog.

"No, I'm not. I'm not really into disrespecting people like that. I know how it feels and it fucking sucks." Darren looked away from Chris' sparkling eyes.

"Yes, it most certainly does," Chris agreed.

"What about him?" Darren gestured toward a guy about their age hanging out with his golden retriever.

"Well, he's gorgeous." Chris eyed the nice looking stranger up and down and couldn't help but admire is bulging biceps.

Darren folded his arms across his chest waiting for Chris to stop staring. "Uh… I guess we should head home now." Darren looked around noticing most people vacating their spots.

The stranger glanced over at Chris and gave him a nice smile and a quick 'hello'. Darren stood up impatiently and he began to walk away, leaving Chris to grab the blanket they had been sitting on.

"Wait up! Why are you running off?" Chris questioned as he finally caught up with the shorter man.

"I wasn't sure if you wanted to talk to that guy and I didn't want to cramp your style." Darren was trying not to pout, but his words were slipping through gritted teeth.

"You are acting weird. Did I upset you?" Chris had never seen anything quite as adorable as the look Darren was giving him. He couldn't pin point the emotion behind it, but he looked much like wounded child.

"I'm sorry, I just… I don't know why I took off. I'm a little confused myself." Darren laughed and smiled sheepishly. He really was confused, more fucking confused than he could even articulate.

"It's ok, I'm confused too." Chris wondered if Darren caught his double meaning.

Darren's honey coloured eyes grow wide – he sure as fuck did.

* * *

Joey, Abi, Katie and Lauren were sitting around a patio table playing another game of quarters. Naya was lying just beside them on the lounge chair she had parked herself on earlier. She wasn't quite as drunk as those four, but she wasn't exactly sober.

"Why do I continue to play these stupid drinking games with you Ricther? You get me so wasted every time and then I'm all hung over for work on Monday." Katie slurred as she linked her arm through Joey's.

"Because you secretly love me, that's why." Joey clanked their beer bottles together.

"Give it up Joey." Naya called out. "Even if you had a vagina, she'd never go for you."

Joey looked completely wounded. "If I had a vagina you and I _would be_ together right, Katie?"

"Aw, sure we would," Katie said kissing his cheek. "You are the only guy I've ever been on a date with Honey, so that's saying something."

"Why would she get together with you when she has _me_?" Lauren dropped her hand to Katie's thigh and patted it softly.

Katie glanced over at Naya who was more than aware of Lauren's hand placement. Naya was definitely staring at Katie, but with her glasses on it was hard for the shorter woman to make out her full expression.

"Are you two an item now or what?" Naya asked nonchalantly although her heart was pounding. The thought of Katie dating someone in their close group made her physically sick. Hell, the thought of Katie dating anyone but her made her feel sick.

"Uh, no we aren't." Katie answered a little too quickly for Lauren's liking.

"Ok, now I'm confused." Drunk Lauren was about to get emotional. "The texts we sent yesterday were a little more than just friendly."

Katie began squirming in her seat. She glanced over at Naya who was pretending not to be paying attention, but she clearly saw Katie in her peripheral.

"I – I know, but the question was 'are we dating' and the answer is 'no we are not'." Katie took an unwarranted shot of fireball and Joey started to laugh. He did love him some good lesbian drama. "I mean, we haven't even kissed," Katie added.

Without much warning, Lauren planted a very sloppy drunk kiss on Katie.

"What are you doing? _That's_ our first kiss? Seriously? God Lauren!" Katie jumped up from the table and ran back to her apartment.

"Way to be romantic Lauren. Do you even know her at all?" Abi shook her head as she grabbed two more beers from the cooler and ran after Katie.

"Well, we know who the dude will be in the relationship," Naya muttered.

"Fuck off Naya." Lauren wasn't normally such an idiot, but she felt a little intimidated by Naya's feelings for Katie. The kiss was a poor attempt to basically stake her claim. Not a smart thing to do.

"You two will never work out, you know, there is no fucking chemistry and everyone knows it. Joey, tell her what you told me the other day." Naya was in full bitch mode.

Joey's eyes grew wide and then his face twisted into a humorous glare. "The conversation wasn't quite as brash as that Naya. I just said you two are very similar and that sparks weren't flying yet."

"I don't care what any of you say; she's into me and we plan on dating. It's right here in the text." Lauren didn't realize how ridiculous she sounded as she whined, but then, drunk people don't usually.

By the time Abi caught up with Katie, she was in her bathroom splashing cold water on her face.

"What was she thinking?" Katie turned to Abi and took the beer she held out.

"It was just a stupid kiss Katie." Abi shrugged her shoulders; she wasn't a fan of drama unless she was instigating it for her own entertainment.

"It was our first kiss! We have talked about dating and I like her, but…"

"But nothing. She drunk kissed you; get the hell over it." Abi would never admit this to Katie but she had a small, teeny-tiny crush on her and she really didn't have time to listen to her whine about the bad kiss Lauren just planted on her.

Fucking alcohol.

"Come on, let's go back out there. It's Sunday this is what we do." Abi held her hand out to her friend.

"Fine, but I'm going to keep to myself," Katie pouted.

"No you won't, because ever since Chris took control of your wardrobe, everyone wants to be around you and those titties." Abi chuckled as they made their way back to the pool.

Katie looked down at her bikini top and then rolled her eyes. Lauren ran over to them and Abi left the two alone to go do some shots with Joey.

"I'm sorry." Lauren was holding back tears.

What Katie wanted to say was: _"Maybe we should just stay friends."_ Instead, Drunk Katie actually said: "Do over?"

Lauren smiled shyly and nodded. She slowly moved in close to Katie and this time, the kiss was a lot less sloppy.

"Was that better?" Lauren asked as she pulled back.

"Yes." Katie whispered and kissed her back. She would ignore the uneasy feeling she was having; it must be the alcohol.

Joey looked over at the two women kissing. "You know, it would be so much hotter if you and Katie were making out and I was right in the middle of it. I still think you two should re-think my threesome proposition." Joey's inside voice flew right out of his mouth.

Abi adjusted her headband and rolled her eyes. She didn't trust her inebriated self to speak; not about this.

"How do women do it? If I did what Lauren did I would not be in the middle of make out city like they are," Joey added.

"I wish I was making out right now." Abi stared distastefully at the two women.

"I'd make out with you Abi, but quite frankly you repulse me." Naya sneered.

"I'm sorry, you mistook me for someone who doesn't think you are a walking disease." Abi shuttered. "I'd sooner make out with Richter, thanks." She rolled her eyes away from Naya until she was looking at Joey.

"Ya wanna, you know, make out?" Joey shrugged.

Abi threw her hands up. "Ah, what the hell."

* * *

"Thanks for showing me around today Darren, you were a very entertaining tour guide," Chris said shutting the passenger car door.

"I think part of the entertainment for you was having me be oblivious to your sarcasm." Darren chuckled before squinting his eyes and pointing his finger at Chris. "I think I get you now though."

"Yeah, you seemed to catch on after you realized I hadn't actually participated in the running of the bulls," Chris laughed.

"Hey, in my defense, weirder things have happened."

"Really Dar?" Chris gestured his hands up and down over himself.

Darren laughed. "Fair enough." He couldn't actually see this delicate man engaging in that type of an activity.

Chris opened the gate into their pool area and both of their mouths fell to the ground.

"Holy shit, what the hell have we walked into?" Chris looked around at the lip locked couples and a very surly Naya.

"Ok, this is weird even for us. Why are Ricther and Abi making out?" Darren's eyes were wider than normal as he scanned the scene in front of them.

After a few moments Katie saw that Chris and Darren were there and she shrieked like she hadn't seen them for years.

"Oh my god, did you guys have fun on your date?" She ran over to them, almost slipping and falling.

"Whoa, easy Katie." Darren was laughing at his intoxicated friend.

"It wasn't a date, and yes, it was fun." Chris held Katie still ensuring she wouldn't fall.

"Isn't Chris pretty?" Katie asked Darren as she touched Chris' face.

"Isn't she drunk?" Chris touched Katie's face, clearly mocking her.

"Seriously Dar, isn't he like so fucking pretty," Katie wasn't letting up until she got the answer she was looking for.

"Why do you sound like a Valley Girl?" Chris quipped.

"Because you are so prettaaay. Right Dar?" Katie stared at Darren intently waiting for his response.

"Uh… yeah… pretty." Darren stammered.

"Katie please shut up," Chris warned.

"But you are Chris, you are by far the most beautiful man with magic eyes that change colour."

"Katie, Hun, zip your drunk little mouth," Chris was now suppressing his laughter.

"However, Darren is pretty beautiful too. Wouldn't you agree Chris?" Katie began to giggle.

Darren and Chris exchanged nervous looks. You see, they both did agree with Katie, they agreed with her a fuck of a lot.

Katie's eyes flashed mischief and she darted clumsily over to where the small boom box was playing. She cued up _One Direction's - What Makes You Beautiful._

"Katie, why are you making us listen to this again?" Naya was now in a very foul mood after watching the disgusting lip lock display between her and Lauren not five minutes ago.

"I saw you singing along earlier, so whatever Naya Rivera." Katie flashed her dimples before pulling the taller woman to her feet. "We aren't just listening to it; we are going to perform it!" She then grabbed Joey and Abi and Lauren soon joined them.

"You know, she told me you guys would randomly break out into performances, but I didn't really believe her," Chris chuckled watching them all get into a boy band formation.

"Usually I'm instigating it. I see I've taught Katie well." Darren smiled and stared at Chris for a moment, noticing exactly how beautiful he was.

Joey took the lead on the song which sent Chris into a fit of laughter. Something about having a tall drunk dudes-dude singing about how beautiful he is was fucking hilarious. The fact that he was rubbing his hands all over himself wasn't making it any less funny.

_You're insecure  
Don't know what for  
You're turning heads when you walk through the door  
Don't need make up  
To cover up  
Being the way that you are is enough_

Everyone else in the room can see it  
Everyone else but you

Baby you light up my world like nobody else  
The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed

"They are right, when you flip your hair it's a total turn on," Darren teased bumping his shoulder into Chris.

Even though Naya wasn't in the best mood, dancing next to Katie was making her head swim. They kept brushing up against each other and she's sure she saw goosebumps on Katie's arms when they did.

Katie broke away from the four and ran up to Darren and Chris, they were laughing even harder as she got up in their faces and sang:

_So c-come on  
You got it wrong  
To prove I'm right I put it in a song  
I don't know why  
You're being shy  
And turn away when I look into your eyes  
_

Katie skipped back to her pseudo boy band and they continued their ridiculous rendition of the syrupy pop song. When it finally ended, they all high-fived and congratulated each other on a good performance. Darren and Chris were clapping and whistling their own appreciations.

"I think I'm going to like it here." Chris turned to Darren who was looking at him again.

"I think I'm going to like you being here," Darren said causing them both to flush.

"I'm going to go get changed, it's hot as hell out here." Chris had to get out from under Darren's heated stare. He was becoming a little too, well, turned on for his liking.

"Good plan, I think I'll do the same." Darren watched Chris' ass as he walked away from him.

Damn.

"Can you be any more obvious?" Naya said handing him a beer.

"I think I have a slight situation here," Darren sighed sipping the cold beer.

"I have to say, he is gorgeous; you have excellent taste." Naya tapped Darren's beer bottle with hers.

"I have no fucking clue how to pursue a guy." Darren bit at his bottom lip.

"Yeah, me neither." Naya laughed.

"Or worse yet, what the fuck would I do with him if I got him?" Darren had many years of dating women under his belt, but dating a guy; well that was just terrifying as all hell.

"Speaking of dating, stop telling your dad that we are!" Darren had asked Naya this too many times to count. "He knew about Alicia and sees you hit on women constantly. I don't understand why you both can't admit that you know he knows."

"It's less complicated this way."

"For you maybe, but not for me. Seriously, please stop saying it ok? I don't enjoy the awkward conversations I have with him." Darren now had his hand on his hip and was one minute away from a finger wag. His inner diva was a character that always made Naya laugh.

"Fine, I'll tell him you dumped me and broke my heart."

"Naya!"

"You know I'd never do that. My dad adores you and he'd blame me anyway."

"Just stop saying it, I don't…" Darren would get the chance to finish his sentence because Joey was picking him up and chucking him head first into the pool.

He yelled and flailed all the way until the large splash muffled his pleas. He quickly got out of the pool and went to chase after Joey, but Chris was in his way. Adrenaline clouded his judgment and he decided that Chris needed to be initiated into their Sunday afternoon pool parties properly.

"Someone is a little too dry," Darren waggled his eyebrows before grabbing Chris around the waist.

"No! Please don't! Darren… No! Seriously Darren please don't… I can't go in the water!" The panic in Chris' voice was going unnoticed by the shorter man.

"Darren! No! Put him down!" Katie yelled from across the pool area, however, her cries were also in vain.

Before it could be stopped, Darren had pushed Chris into the deep end. He came to the surface and was spluttering and having what can only be described as a serious panic attack. Katie was already in the water by his side by the time he came up for air. She quickly got him to the shallow end and then eventually out of the pool.

"Are you okay?" She grabbed a towel on a nearby table and wrapped it around him. She knew he was not even close to okay.

Tears were streaming down his face, but thanks to the pool water, it wasn't that obvious. "N-no, I'm not. Please, I just need to go." Chris all but ran back to their apartment.

Darren didn't know what to do; he had no idea what the hell just happened. "Is he okay?" Darren asked as Katie.

"He said he couldn't go in the water Darren, why didn't you listen?" Katie glared and ran after Chris and Darren ran after her.

"Katie wait, please, let me talk to him."

"Fine but only because I'm extremely drunk and your words are going to make more sense. You hurt him and I will mess you up in the face." Katie pointed at Darren's face causing him to laugh at her ridiculousness.

Darren slowly opened the apartment door and followed the sound of sniffles to Chris' bedroom. The younger man was sitting on a chair with his elbows resting on his knees and his chin resting on his hands. He was sobbing almost uncontrollably and it broke Darren's heart. He became overcome with empathy and tears of his own began to well in his eyes.

"Chris?" Darren's voice was gentle.

"Please go away," Chris was so embarrassed.

Darren moved to kneel in the spot in front of Chris. Even red from crying, Darren thought Chris' eyes looked amazing.

"I'm so sorry that I-I didn't listen to you. I didn't realize you were afraid of the water." Darren put both his hands on Chris' thighs.

"I didn't yell _I can't go in the water_ for the fun of it." Chris voice was just above a whisper.

"I know; I'm an idiot. I thought you just didn't want to be tossed in." Darren wiped a tear that Chris had missed.

"Yeah, well, _I didn't_ _want to be tossed in_." Chris' chest was still rising and falling rapidly.

"I'm so fucking sorry." Darren paused for a moment when was side tracked by Chris' glistening lips. "Do you mind if I ask what happened to make you so fearful of the water?"

"It's not all water; I'm actually not bad with the ocean. It's just pools." Chris was looking into Darren's concerned eyes. God, he looked incredible. Darren's hair was still dripping wet and had formed tiny little ringlets. Chris wanted nothing more than to play with one of them - just one.

Darren was rubbing his hands up and down over Chris' thighs waiting for him to continue.

"When I was fifteen there was a pool party. It was an end of the school year thing and I had no desire to go but Katie wanted to, so I went."

Chris paused and wiped his nose on the Kleenex he was holding.

"I didn't connect with a ton of people in high school, but I had my core group of friends and of course I had Katie and I was happy with that. I was often bullied, but at that time, it seemed to have eased up a bit. Anyway, I guess my luck ran out and one of my retired bullies decided to make a comeback. He knew I was gay and I guess me being in the pool at the same time as him was offensive in some way; or at least that was his excuse. He basically held me under the water until I fell unconscious. Katie tried to help me, but he pushed her away so hard she hit her head and cracked it open. So, there I was unconscious and she was bleeding everywhere. One of my other friends did CPR on me and I was awake by the time the ambulance came to take Katie and I to hospital. She ended up with a couple of stitches and I ended up with a brand new debilitating phobia."

"Chris, I don't know what to say." Darren couldn't imagine something so awful happening to this amazing person in front of him.

"You don't have to say anything." Chris offered Darren a weak smile.

"I want to help you with this." Darren wanted to do something; he had to fucking do something.

"I don't need to be your pet project." Chris didn't like the idea of Darren seeing him have panic attack after panic attack as he tried to 'fix' him.

"I don't think of you as a pet project. I guess it's selfish really. I'd like to enjoy the odd pool day together and I need you to be able to lounge on a pool chair in the pool for that." Darren flashed Chris a smile that made him forget that he had any type of phobia.

"You aren't going to take no for an answer are you?" Chris knew he wouldn't.

"Not really, no." Darren squished his nose and shook his head.

"I don't know why I'm agreeing to this but I am," Chris smiled.

"Because I'm awesome and you want to spend time with me?" Darren's eyebrows raised and he gave Chris a toothy grin that was borderline dorky.

"Yeah, that must be it." Chris pushed Darren slightly causing him to crash backward onto his bum.

Darren rose to his feet and walked over to Chris' bed where he sat down.

"Hey, hey! You're wet! Get the hell off of my bed," Chris laughed as he pulled Darren to his feet.

"When would you like to start? I'll have you swimming with the rest of the Fishes in no time." Darren was standing so close to the younger man he could feel the heat his body was emitting.

Darren calling them "Fishes" reminded Chris of something.

"Ever since the BBQ yesterday, Katie keeps calling me a duck and laughing; do you know why? Chris wondered if this was an inside joke Darren would understand.

"I have no idea." Darren shot Chris a confused look.

"Well, as you can see, the only duck I am is a duck out of water." Chris blushed still quite embarrassed.

"Well, knowing Katie it's probably sexual. Ask Abi what it means if Katie won't enlighten you. Those two have their own ambiguous language. Abi calls me a Purple People Eater and I have no fucking clue what that means, but I'm certain it's sexual."

"Abi is hilarious." Chris chuckled; she was one of the people he was most looking forward to getting to know; aside from Darren that is.

"Good job changing the subject by the way. So, when would you like to start the pool thing?" Darren smiled warmly.

"Can we do it at night?"

"Oh, we can do it at night," Darren muttered under his breath then smirked himself.

"What was that?" Chris wasn't sure he heard him correctly.

"Night is fine and as late as you want. Whatever makes you comfortable okay?" Darren really needed to stop staring at his lips.

"Tomorrow night then?" Chris realized he was terrified to overcome this, but his desire to spend time with Darren was trumping his fear.

Darren grinned. "It's a date."

Operation _Duck in Water_ would soon be underway.

* * *

**_TBC_**


	3. Cinnamon

**Just a quick thank you to everyone who is still following this crazy 'verse. I know my chapter postings have been taking longer than I'd like, but I'm hoping the creative flow comes back full hog and that I will be posting more often in the winter months. With that being said, I'd love prompts to help me along! So, feel free to drop me a note privately or post publicly if you prefer. The prompt can be anything - seriously! I'm sure some people want to read about Darren doing a pottery class right? :-)**

**Once again a big thank you to midlifecrisses for taking the time to beta and also sparking the inspiration for the name of this chapter.**

**To my dedicated little manager Lauren: Happy Belated Birthday Darlin'! Thanks for all the love you put into this 'verse.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Darren sat patiently at Naya's breakfast nook with one leg dangling off of the stool. He pulled at the starched collar of his crisp white shirt and made a mental note to talk to Mr. Rivera about changing their bartending uniforms. All he needed was a black jacket and a bowtie and he'd be fit to attend his own wedding.

Naya was chatting away on the phone and noticed Darren fidgeting. She leaned close and undid the top button of his shirt, giving her best friend a nod of approval. Darren looked a little too stuffy with that top button fastened. She could see why so many women flocked to the bar when he was tending; he filled out the formal attire perfectly. Not to mention he had the ability to make anyone feel like they were the only person in the room.

"Dad, you have got to be kidding me!" Naya looked at the ceiling and let out a long hard huff. "Fine, but I don't need to do this. I'm fully capable of…" Mr. Rivera's booming voice could be heard by Darren as he cut his daughter off mid sentence. "Ok Daddy… I love you too. Bye."

"I know that look; it's the look of Naya not getting her own way," Darren teased.

"Fuck off 'K?" Naya was not amused. "He's making me take night classes. Apparently, Miss Katie had to get her schedule reorganized because she's taking a writing class and he fucking enrolled me in the class with her!" Naya wasn't a fan of school when she had to go; this felt like a punishment.

"That's not so bad; you are always saying you want to help out more with some of our writing." Darren was trying desperately to find the positive.

"It gets worse; he also enrolled me in a business class. I graduated college Dar, I don't need to take night school."

"To be fair, you only just made it through college Naya because you spent most of it partying," Darren pointed out with a knowing look.

"Whose side are you on anyway?"

"Always yours Sweetheart, always yours. Just think; you'll get to spend time with Katie."

More annoying optimism from Darren.

"Dar, taking a class with Katie is not a good thing. I'm not book smart like she is. She graduated with honours and, as you pointed out, I was more into beer pong. Her opinion of me is already sketchy; I don't want to look stupid in front of her too. This officially sucks."

"You could always ask Katie to tutor you," Darren said waggling his eyebrows.

"What part of: _I don't want to look stupid in front of her_ do you not understand?"

Darren let out a hearty chuckle. "Fine, fine! It's terrible and this is the end of the world. I don't know how the hell you are going to make it through this horrible ordeal. Poor little rich girl."

"I officially hate you so much," Naya was laughing now too.

"I know you do. Are you coming to the club tonight?" Darren stepped down off of the stool.

"Are you performing?" Naya loved it when Darren sang; it was something she rarely missed.

"Not tonight. Joey filled all of the spots without me and gave Chris a few to get him into the swing of things. So, I will be confined to the bar."

"What's the theme tonight?"

"Ironically, the one night I'm sitting out completely it's a night of all music. There are no skits or comedy routines tonight. Chris and Katie will be doing a ballad together though. I heard them rehearsing and they sound fucking unbelievable." Darren blushed and Naya noticed.

"You have such a crush on him," was all Naya said.

"I don't get it," Darren couldn't even pretend it wasn't true. Naya would see through him in a second anyway.

"What's to get? What is that you are always telling me about love not being black or white?"

"Yeah, yeah." Darren rolled his eyes away from Naya and folded his arms across his chest still embarrassed.

"Your feelings for Colfer definitely fall into the grey category and personally, I think it's cute. I can't wait until you come running to me all excited to tell me about your first cock sucking experience." Naya squeezed Darren's cheek before slapping it lightly twice.

"Ok, I officially hate _you_. You can't put shit like that into my head; I'm going to be a blithering fool if he talks to me."

"You a blithering fool? Not likely. Instead you will go on and on about something non-essential and he will want to slit his wrists just so he doesn't have to listen to you ramble on."

"Thanks for the ego boost." Darren shot his best friend a hurt glare.

"As if you need an ego boost. Almost everyone I know wants to fuck you."

Darren let out a sharp burst of laughter. "That is so not true! I'm a skinny little short guy who happens to have a decent personality and a little bit of talent. It's my attitude that takes me places, not my looks." Darren was definitely a little too modest.

Naya raised her eyebrows not believing one line of his bull shit. However, she wasn't going to argue with Darren about this _again_. She'd never convince him that he was gorgeous and admired by many. His ignorance on the subject was part of his charm, so it was best if he didn't quite understand it.

"So are you coming tonight or not?" Darren was uncomfortable with this conversation and needed to get to work.

"I might stop in later if I get bored," Naya shrugged.

Darren smirked and made his way toward the door. He knew Naya would be by later because Katie would be performing.

* * *

Darren was trying to distract himself and restocking the alcohol seemed to be his best bet. Chris was sitting at the bar right in front of him writing in his journal. Normally this type of initiative would have sparked a friendly conversation, but Darren was tongue tied. This was something that had never really happened to him and he wondered if hell had also frozen over.

Chris stared at the blank page in his journal, oblivious to the shorter man in front of him. Ok, not completely oblivious. Chris did notice how amazing Darren's ass looked in those snug black pants. But past that, he was doing a really good job of focusing on his journal. The journal that he'd been staring at for the past ten minutes; the same journal he hadn't written one bloody word in.

Ok, so he wasn't dong _that_ good of a job focusing. Chris stretched his neck from side to side as he prepared himself to write.

**_Dear Journal,_**

**_Before I begin - Katie, I swear to god if you are reading this I will have no reservations about telling everyone at Starfish what happened during your senior year scavenger hunt. _**

**_With that out of the way I can begin…_**

**_My first weekend in a new city with my new colleagues was interesting, to put it mildly._**

**_Living with Katie is great, but that's no surprise - I knew it would be. Up until now, I really hadn't realized just how much I had missed her. I didn't fully understand how hard this past year had been without her by my side. It's only been a few days since I arrived in Chicago, but being around her has already eased the loneliness that has quietly plagued me since the ugly break up. All the friends in the world can't compare to a best friend when you are going through something difficult. The crazy thing is I feel guilty that I didn't confide in her completely, but with a couple thousand miles separating us what could she do except worry and feel helpless? I didn't want that._**

**_She wasn't entirely in the dark; Katie knew I had withdrawn a little, but she didn't know the magnitude of the pain I felt after Zach and I broke up six months ago. It didn't take him long to move on after we split up and that just confirmed my suspicions that he had been cheating on me. In fact, in little under a month after we broke up I had the privilege of seeing a lovely quarter page ad in our local newspaper announcing his engagement. It wasn't just his pending nuptials that had blindsided me; no it was the fact that he was marrying a woman. Not just any woman; a woman he claimed was 'only a friend' while we were dating. Looking back, I should have known. During the 9 months we were together we never once had sex and it sure as hell wasn't for lack of trying on my part._**

**_Since then, I tried going on a few dates but I just can't seem to let people in. The fear of having my heart broken really gets in the way or romance, let me tell you. But now I'm here in this brand new city, with a brand new beginning and ready to start living again. _**

**_Maybe even start dating? _**

**_Not that there is anyone here that I have my eye on and even if there was, he's not exactly on my team. I swore I'd never get involved with anyone remotely straight and that is a promise I intend to keep. Without sounding overly dramatic - my heart can't take another beating. _**

**_Maybe I should rethink the pool time with Darren…_**

"Whatcha writing?" Katie asked in a sing-song voice as she jumped up onto the bar stool next to her best friend. She looked adorable in a red and white floral print dress. The top was cut a little higher than Chris would have liked – his best friend really did need to embrace her womanhood.

Chris slammed his journal shut and glanced sideways at his best friend. "I'm just doing homework – I began my journal," he said slipping it into his brown leather Ralph Lauren messenger bag. Katie had saved up for months to get him the bag for his last birthday. It was by far one of his favourite things.

"You are such a keener," Katie teased with a poke to his side. "I haven't started mine yet."

"Yeah, well I figured I'd channel the Zach thing. That's bound to help bring out an emotion or two." Chris was chuckling, but to Katie, the pain was obvious.

"I swear if I ever see Zach again I will rip off his balls and feed them to Rebecca," Katie scowled as she tossed a pretzel into her mouth.

Hearing both Zach's and his fiancée's name in the same sentence still caused stabbing pains in Chris' stomach.

Darren was eavesdropping and he was only too eager to hear more about this Zach guy. He also made a mental note not to piss Katie off. He puttered around behind the bar doing the same menial task over and over again thinking no one was paying attention to him.

"Dar? How many times are you going to wipe down the counter?" Katie smirked, giving Darren a knowing look.

"Oh, uh… I just…" he stammered.

The door flew open and in Abi stormed in letting Darren off the hook.

"…fuck me! We kissed - it doesn't mean we are engaged right? I mean, if I wanted to date an emo girl, I'd be fucking dating one. Been there done that! Not that we are dating because we're not! We kissed that's it! Ok, maybe there was some fondling and a little below the belt action, but aside from that nothing happened! Can you actually see me and Richter together? That's fucking insane not to mention we'd look ridiculous. He's fucking 6'1 and I'm not even 5 feet. I mean seriously!"

"Jesus Abi, take a deep breath," Katie instructed as she sat her friend down.

Joey walked through door and Abi let out an overly dramatic huff. There was no hiding how pissed off she was.

"What? You can't even acknowledge me in the parking lot now? What the hell is wrong with you?" Joey was more confused than normal. He and Abi were the best of pals and right now she was acting like such a little bitch.

"What's wrong with me? What the hell is wrong with you? I don't want to be your girlfriend, deal with it!" Abi blasted.

"I don't recall asking you to go steady. Let's face it, you aren't really my type." Joey's calm, condescending tone only infuriated Abi more.

"Go fuck yourself!" Abi jumped off the stool and stormed off to the backstage area.

"I'm gonna marry that girl." Joey said with a whimsical look in his eyes.

"Wow, she's a little spit fire." Chris thought Katie was bad when she was emotional, but Abi was on a whole other playing field.

"Abi is an only child and the baby of our company. She has a bit of growing up to do, but she's a good girl," Darren piped up thankful he was able to form proper sentences while looking into those stunning green-blue eyes.

"I wasn't suggesting that she was a bad person," Chris said defensively, narrowing his eyes a little.

"Oh crap," Katie muttered under her breath shooting Joey a desperate look.

"Well that's good, because she's not. We are like a family here," Darren added with a lofty smile.

"Calling her a spit fire is an observation Darren, not a put down." Chris sat up straight and stared Darren right in his honey coloured eyes.

"Well, it sounded a little derogatory to me and here at StarFish we try to be supportive of each other." Darren wasn't about to lose this staring contest.

"What you mean? Like the way Abi is supporting Joey by telling him to go fuck himself?" Chris did not appreciate the way Darren was trying to school him on how to behave. He knew how to treat people; he most certainly didn't need this pompous prick giving him a lesson.

"Chris, I don't think Darren meant…" Katie began.

"No Katie, don't fight his battle for him," Chris glared lightly at his best friend, the peace keeper.

The door opening and slamming startled all three of them. Apparently Lauren was up next.

"Oh god, what now?" Katie asked no one in particular.

"What the hell is this?" Lauren held up an iPhone as she charged toward Katie.

"Screw this; I'm going to get ready." Chris waved his hand dismissively and left the bar area. He didn't want to be anywhere near Darren or the feuding lesbians.

"Yeah, me too," Joey added following after him with the same idea.

Darren wished he could leave, but bar tending meant he had to watch the damn door.

"I don't know Lauren, what the hell is that?" Katie spoke calmly as she touched her temples lightly. All this conflict was hurting her head.

"Um, this is your phone! And you have about six messages from some girl named Lindsay. She has all kinds of dirty things to say to you. The last message is her asking you if she can come over and fuck you tonight!" Lauren was spitting fire she was so angry.

Katie walked over to where her purse was hanging on the back of a chair. She slowly unzipped the zipper and pulled out her iPhone. Just as slowly, she walked back to where Lauren was standing.

"This…" Katie said, shaking her phone from side to side, "…is my phone." She took the phone Lauren was holding and began inspecting it. "This phone here belongs to Naya."

Again, the door opened quickly and slammed shut.

"Oh thank god! You have my phone!" Naya rushed toward Katie. "I left it on the table outside of your apartment this morning. Chris and I were having a little chat and I forgot it there."

Katie looked at Naya. "Apparently you have a few messages from Lindsay. She'd like to come over tonight and fuck you." Katie dropped the phone in Naya's hand, turned on her heels and walked backstage.

"Katie, wait up," Lauren ran after her leaving Naya and Darren alone.

"Well that's just fucking perfect isn't it?" Naya grabbed a beer from behind the bar. "I don't have a hope in hell now."

Darren took a small sip of Naya's beer. "I pissed Chris off too. This is shaping up to be a fucking awesome night."

* * *

The night came to an end and Darren didn't have it in him to call the much needed meeting. The show was mediocre at best. Luckily the paying customers didn't seem to notice; or if they did, they didn't care to complain. However, Darren was disappointed in his company and himself. He had let his personal feelings get in the way of being a good leader. He should have called the circle before the show like he always did, but after everyone went storming off in one fashion or another; he just let them all be.

He wanted to let Chris be.

The bar wall clock told him it was 1:30am, and he was more than ready to go home. As usual, he was the last out of the club. Thankfully it was a weekday and they closed a little bit earlier.

Darren locked up and walked slowly to his car with his spirits dampened. He wanted nothing more than to go home and have a nice hot shower and wash the filth of the night off of him; both figuratively and literally.

He pulled out his phone and began sending a mass text to the StarFish crew. After he hit send, he tossed the phone into his passenger seat, started the car and drove himself home on autopilot.

With his heart still heavy, he walked to his apartment and before he went to open the door, he heard yelling. Abi and Joey were fighting at this god forsaken hour. Darren's shoulders fell even more and he contemplated going to Naya's to shower and sleep in her spare room, but he wasn't up for the deep conversation she'd surly instigate. So instead, he decided to go to their complex's gym and use the shower there. That should give Abi and Joey plenty of time to duke it out.

* * *

"Well that's just great!" Katie was turning off a light in their apartment when her phone went off.

"I take it you saw the text too?" Chris poked his head out of his bedroom.

"Yeah, I did. It's never good when Darren calls a meeting like this. The last time this happened we ended up hiking through some bush as a team building exercise." Katie had no desire to get poison ivy again.

"If I get a doctor's note can I be excused?" Chris asked through the side of his mouth causing his best friend to giggle.

"Where are you going?" Katie eyed Chris suspiciously. Why was he wearing sneakers with shorts and a wife beater at this crazy hour?

"I'm going to do a light workout. I need to keep my girlish figure," Chris answered with a hand firmly on his hip; he added a high kick for good measure.

"Be serious. If I had your body I'd have no need for clothing. I'd walk around naked all the time." Katie wasn't even kidding – she definitely envied his lack of body fat.

"You are ridiculous you know that?"

"So you tell me," Katie smiled and winked.

"Anyway, I'm not tired and I need to do something. I contemplated eating the entire contents of the fridge to cure my insomnia, but decided working was a better solution."

"The adrenaline will keep you up won't it?" Katie was pretty sure it would.

"Eventually I'll pass out I'm sure." Chris kissed Katie's cheek. "Have a good sleep Hun; I'll see you in the morning."

Chris shut the door behind him and walked toward the gym. Someone must have left the light on because the room was already brightly lit when he entered. Without putting any more thought into it, he filled his water bottle and stepped onto the treadmill. Chris paused when he thought he heard running water, but shrugged it off and put his ear buds in. _Big Girls Don't Cry_ began playing on his iPod as he began a slow jog to warm up.

* * *

Darren felt better. He was already thinking of ways to deal with his little StarFishes tomorrow. Yes, there would be a team building exercise and they were going to like it or lump it.

He wrapped a towel around his waist, forgetting to take the moisture out of his hair. Shaking his head rapidly from side to side, water flew all over the bathroom, covering the mirror and every other nearby surface. Ignoring the mess he made, Darren realized he was thirsty and left the bathroom to go into the gym area where the water cooler was. As he walked through the doors, he heard the hum of the treadmill and someone singing along to Fergie's hit song.

"_Like the little school mate in the school yard we'll play jacks and Uno Cards… I'll be your best friend and you'll be mine… Valentine…"_

Darren was both impressed and a little turned on by Chris jogging and singing in perfect pitch. Ok, so his pitch wasn't the only thing Darren was paying attention to. That ass; that glorious Chris Colfer ass was small and tight and holy fuck he couldn't avert his eyes if acid had been thrown into them.

Darren ogled a few moments longer before Chris felt eyes on him. The younger man twisted himself around and lost his footing when he saw Darren standing in the near buff with water dripping off of his curls and down his chest. Chris tried to grab the railing on the treadmill, he really did, but it was too late. His ass hit the moving platform and before he could let out a full shriek, he was being tossed right off of the god damned thing. That should have been enough, but there was a barbell close by to break his fall. He closed his eyes tightly as an intense pain shot through his head.

After the room stopped spinning, Chris' opened his eyes to find himself cradled tightly in Darren's arms. He smelled like Irish Spring and was still damp from the shower. Things were cloudy and his head hurt like hell, but that didn't matter because Darren was gently caressing the back of his neck making everything else unimportant. He wanted to pull away but he couldn't. Darren was looking at him with an expression Chris could only recognize as desire and it was completely hypnotizing.

This was so surreal and it didn't make any sense. Somehow Darren moved him onto his back and was hovering over him. They weren't quite touching, but he could feel the warmth of Darren's body so close to his own.

Darren held the back of Chris' injured head as his eyes danced with pure lust. Slowly, Darren's lips brushed across Chris' and for a brief moment, the younger man lost all reasoning. Pushing himself closer, their lips moved together more urgently; sucking and nipping until the kiss deepened and their tongues tangled together.

Cinnamon; Darren tasted like cinnamon.

"Wait, we can't… we shouldn't. This… this isn't right." Chris words were meant for Darren, but it seemed more like a personal plea to himself.

"Nothing is _more_ right and you know it." Darren's voice was just above a whisper. His hand traced lightly over Chris' burning cheek.

"This could never work." Chris' eyes fell shut for a brief moment as the calloused hand skimmed his jaw line.

"Yeah, well I don't believe you and I don't think you believe it either." Darren's pupils were blown out and it was if he was holding back every animal instinct he had to rip Chris' clothes off and devour every fucking inch of him.

"What would make you think that?" Chris voice was shaky and keeping eye contact was an immense struggle.

Darren's lower body was still dangerously close to Chris'. One swift movement and Darren would feel exactly how turned on the younger man was.

Darren let out an exasperated chuckle and Chris felt his warm, cinnamon-sweet breath so close to his own lips.

"You are going to ask me that question with a straight face Colfer? You and I arguing earlier was pure sexual tension and you know it. That's not the first time we've had tension like that – just admit it."

"Speak for yourself." Chris rolled his eyes with an air of flippancy, but he felt the lump in his throat growing.

Darren smirked as he pushed his lower body flush against Chris. Chris shook his head and more than anything he wanted to tell him to get the hell off of him, but he couldn't get the words to leave his mouth. When those golden eyes softened and offered him nothing but comfort, Chris felt himself getting even woozier and he was a goner.

"I'm hard too." Darren spoke just above a whisper as he thrust his hips down, just once.

Chris eyes grew and his mouth fell open at the contact. His chest started to rise and fall dramatically and quite frankly, he didn't know what else to do so he thrust back.

Darren's phone started to ring but he didn't answer it; instead he let out an uncontrollable moan.

Wait a minute - that uncontrollable moan wasn't coming from Darren it was coming from Chris. And the moan wasn't a result of pleasure. The sharp, stabbing pain in his head caused him to make such a noise. In fact, it wasn't so much of a moan as it was a groan.

"Chris, wake-up. Fuck, please wake-up." Darren was trying not to panic as he tapped Chris' cheeks lightly. "Why the hell didn't I become a paramedic or a doctor?" he mumbled to himself. His phone had been ringing but it finally stopped.

Chris opened his eyes slowly and quickly realized where he was. He and Darren hadn't just made out on the floor; no, he landed there a few moments ago and hit his head. And by the looks of it, he had been knocked out cold.

"Ow." Chris squinted and touched the goose egg a few inches above his ear.

"Oh thank god! Are you ok?" Darren let out a nervous chuckle as he caressed Chris' cheek a little too intimately.

Chris paused for a moment, still trying to make sense out of his dream. "You smell like Irish Spring," he finally said groggily.

Darren had almost forgotten he had just come from the shower and he had most certainly forgotten that he was sitting on the floor clad in a towel that was damn near falling off of him.

Chris sat up and eyed the shorter man timidly. "You didn't actually kiss me?" he whispered not realizing his inside thoughts weren't being kept inside at all.

"I think you hit your head _really _hard," Darren laughed anxiously. He was now painfully aware of his lack of clothing. He tightened the towel and began hating himself for wishing to fuck he had just kissed Chris.

Hearing the word _hard _made Chris remember the dream. "I'm going to be sick," he groaned turning a pale shade of grey.

Darren quickly helped him to his feet and rushed him to the bathroom where the younger man did just as he warned. When Chris was sure there was nothing else left in his stomach, he slumped beside the toilet and let his head fall into his hands.

"I'm so sorry." Chris had never felt so humiliated.

Darren sat on the floor next to him. "Don't apologize; I should be the one apologizing to you, first, for my behaviour at the club and then for sneaking up on you here. It's totally my fault you hurt yourself." Darren smiled sheepishly before making eye contact with Chris.

"I'd say me throwing up in front of you is enough restitution." Chris wanted to look away from those eyes, but he just couldn't. His dream, or whatever the hell you want to call it, felt real. He touched his lips trying to make sense of it all.

Darren rose to his feet clearing his throat. He extended his hand to Chris and helped him up.

"I'll walk you to your apartment. Just let me get my clothes on."

"Uh, oh, um… ok. I'll just wait for you out there." Chris pointed toward the gym and left the small confines of the bathroom. The walls felt like they were closing in and he needed to get the hell out of there.

Darren's hair was still in wet ringlets when he joined Chris a few minutes later. He smiled to himself remembering what Chris had said. He must have had some crazy dream while he was unconscious. Just the thought of Chris thinking of him _that way _made his own head spin.

"All set?" Darren said cheerfully eyeing Chris casually to see if he was truly ok.

"Yeah, thanks." Chris walked through the door Darren was holding open for him.

They walked quietly to Chris' apartment, both of them trying not to look at the other.

"Thanks for making sure I got home safe." Chris felt the blush creeping over his face as he made eye contact with the older man.

"It's the least I could do. Are you sure we shouldn't take you to Emergency? I'm pretty sure you have a concussion." Darren had already suggested this about six times but Chris insisted he was okay.

"I will go see the doctor tomorrow, I promise. Especially if it gets me out of your meeting." Chris smirked, still feeling the heat from his blush.

"Hey now! It's actually going to be fun, but I guess you will miss out." Darren winked.

Chris began fumbling around in his pocket for his keys. Darren took a step closer to him and sunk his hand into the pocket and pulled out the keys with ease.

"Let me," Darren said, unlocking the door.

Chris stepped just inside and turned back toward Darren. "So, uh, goodnight," he said quietly as their eyes locked yet again.

"Yeah, uh, night." Darren looked toward the pool just to break their heated stare off.

"Did I say something weird right after I came to?" Chris had to know.

This time Darren's face turned bright red. "Yeah, I mean you had just hit your head like, uh, really hard. You were still out of it."

"Shit." Chris grimaced before burying his face in his palms.

"It's ok; I know it didn't mean anything." Darren smiled and shrugged trying to act a hell of a lot more casual than he felt.

"I just… well… I mean you aren't…" Chris was apparently still a little out of it. He held his hand up to his bump when he felt it pounding.

"Don't worry about it. We don't have to talk about this now; you need to get some rest." Darren ushered Chris inside.

Katie was still up and Darren let her know what happened to her roommate.

"You are sleeping with me tonight, I need to watch you." Katie's big brown eyes were wide with worry. She wanted to take Chris to Emergency, but again, the man refused.

"I see you are in good hands now," Darren smiled warmly. "I'll check in on you tomorrow to see how you are. And don't think I've forgotten about our pool time." Darren winked and stepped outside.

"I haven't forgotten," Chris smiled shyly, "Have a good sleep Darren."

"Thanks, you too."

Darren stood outside Katie and Chris' apartment a few minutes after the door was closed. "What am I doing?" He muttered to himself as he walked back to his own apartment.

Joey was still up, sitting on the couch watching TV and eating popcorn. By the sour look on his face it was pretty obvious he and Abi hadn't ended their yelling match with any sort of resolution.

"I take it things with you and Abi are still in the crapper?" Darren asked plunking himself down on the couch next to his friend.

"She's fucking impossible." Joey was completely spent by their argument and not in the mood to talk about it in detail.

"I'm sorry man." Darren didn't have much in the way of wise words or comfort at this hour.

"Whaths up wif ooo and Chris?" Joey asked with a mouth full of popcorn.

"I think you just asked what was up with me and Chris," Darren said laughing.

Joey nodded and tapped his nose.

"Nothing really; we had a little argument earlier – if you could call it that, but things are fine now," Darren said with a shrug. He didn't feel the need to get into Chris' little gym accident right now. "There is no butter on this popcorn." He added tossing a couple kernels into his mouth. "It's kind of gross but I can't stop eating it."

"That's not what I'm asking. You guys have some weird energy together. If I didn't know you better I'd think he made you uncomfortable." Joey couldn't really explain what it was, but there was something between Darren and Chris that seemed, well, different.

"Yeah, I guess a little." Darren stuffed a huge fist full of popcorn into his face.

"Care to elaborate." Joey nudged Darren with his elbow.

"Nope. I'm going to bed before I eat all this popcorn. Night man." Darren fist bumped Joey and went to his room.

After a few minutes of tossing and turning Darren realized sleep wasn't in the cards for him. He flicked through pictures on his phone, lingering longer on any one Chris was in. He couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like kissing those lips. What it would be like having those bright eyes looking at him _that way. _ His thoughts flew well past PG-13 to X-rated causing his body to react accordingly.

This wasn't the first time that Darren had to work himself out after thinking about Chris. His crush was growing with each passing hour and he was sure that controlling his arousal was only going to become more of a challenge. The pull he felt to Chris was so intense not to mention confusing. If Chris was a woman, Darren would be thinking of creative ways to pursue him. But Chris was far from a woman, and Darren had no idea what he was doing or if Chris was even open to it. But still - he had to do something because these hard-ons were not just reserved for sleepless nights. He'd already found himself uncomfortable at the most inopportune times and his body seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to reacting to Chris Colfer. His body knew things Darren's brain hadn't quite figured out yet.

Letting out a sigh of frustration Darren's hand snaked under the covers. He closed his eyes and thought about Chris - imagining him naked and laying beside him. He gripped his cock while thoughts of their bodies tangled together ran through his mind. Thoughts about Chris going down on him soon took over and Darren could almost feel his warm mouth sucking him off. After a few long deliberate strokes, he moaned softly as the strain and frustration were washed away. But even after a fairly intense orgasm, Darren was far from satisfied.

Cleaning off his stomach, he looked at one more picture of Chris. It was a picture he had taken when he played tour guide a few days ago. He smiled and wondered how this Zach asshole could have cheated on this nearly perfect person.

The butterflies in Darren's stomach were back. He thought adults weren't really supposed to feel them – he figured they were something that he had left behind with adolescence.

He thought wrong.

His phone began to buzz and a message had come through.

_**Just wanted to apologize again for throwing up in front of you. Not something I wanted to do in front of my boss. :-S – C**_

_**Oh Jesus, please don't think of me as your boss. – D**_

After what Darren just did, he in no way felt like Chris was his subordinate.

_**But technically you are - it's ok, authority figures don't really intimidate me! ;-) - C**_

_**Well good, because I don't want to intimidate you Chris. I really like you. – D**_

After hitting send, Darren wondered if it was too much. Did he sound as smitten as he was? Fuck.

_**Can I ask you a question? – C**_

_**Of course. – D**_

Oh god, it had been too much hadn't it? Darren began to panic when it took Chris a little longer to reply. What he didn't know was that Chris was trying to find his own nerve.

_**Vanilla or Cinnamon? – C**_

Darren chuckled at the bizarre question.

_**Uh… Cinnamon. - D**_

_**I knew it… - C**_

* * *

_**TBC**_


End file.
